Becoming: A Blademaster's Tale
by McVinster
Summary: The tale of a young woman's unexpected talent and how she is thrust into the life of a Blademaster.
1. Chapter 1

Becoming:

A Blademaster's Tale

The Village of the Oppressed they call it now, but I just knew it as home. I still don't know quite what happened that night, it was dark and I was so very young. It must have been some powerful force of Evil that murdered that entire village that night as the fires still burn, or so I'm told.

They call me Nanashi now, because I have no memory of what my parents called me and I haven't been back since some hero found me, alone and naked in the ashes, and took me into the city of Etherblade. The Elder here is a kind man, and he took pity on me that day. Fang the Tailor in the back end of the city needed a new assistant, so I was sent to her to train. It's always been a lousy job, picking stray fibres from the loom with my small fingers, fetching and carrying all manner of stinking chemicals for Fang. The pay is even worse than the job, but I also get room and food enough to keep me better than the people I see in the streets every day, so every night I thank my lucky stars as I watch the sun set and cast a bloody light across the enormous stone sword which gave the city its name, that I'm even still alive.

It was one of those clear night that I asked Fang what happened to her last assistant. She told me of his dreams; to become a hero, to travel to Archosaur and train there with the mighty General Summer. Fang spoke of the General with such awe and respect, but I have never heard of him. My mistress told me more that night, of how only the finest young people who had proven their worth to the Elder could become heroes and travel all of Pangu.

Naturally, my head was filled with dreams of heroism, images of men and women in noble battle for their country, for their world. For the next few days, I coasted through my chores in my dream world, doing everything subconsciously, automatically, until Fang spoke to me this afternoon.

"I need you to go on a special errand, outside of the city, for me." She spoke as she folded some cheap leather, "There's a type of beetle, and their blood makes a wonderful royal blue dye, and also helps imbue the magic properties of some robes. But I've run out and there's going to be an influx of buyers any time soon, as its the weekend."

I just stood and listened mutely, Fang was always likely to chatter her way through for half an hour when something was important.

"Could you go out and get me some blood, please? You can have the rest of the day off once you get back."

Now that got my attention. My mistress was not a cruel one, but it had to be an extra special occasion to make her let me have even a minute's break, let alone half a day. Bless her she must have been desperate.

"Alright," I said, "what do I need to do?"

And so, I was sent out with a slightly rusty old shortsword, three bottles and directions to go out of the south gate. With a light breeze throwing my shoulder length hair away from my face, I looked down over the trees and river, the sweet scent of wildlife washing away the acrid tang of bleach and the smoke of town.

The path wound down the hill before me, the cobbles worn and uneven under my old shoes. At least it wasn't raining that day, as I made my way south. The Inn of the Eagle is what I was told to head for, but I couldn't see why it was anything to do with an Eagle, and the inn itself was well past its heyday, but that's where the beetles are.

A large blue flash between the tree trunks caught my attention, unnatural among the browns and greens of the woods. A creature about the height of my waist, and twice as long emerged from the trees, an intimidating creature for anyone as inexperienced as I was, with horns longer than my arms. And yet, it was grazing so peacefully among the small native wolves in the trees, it seemed no more harmful than a cow.

I took a deep breath before stepping as stealthily as I could towards the beetle. It didn't seem to mind as I approached it, keeping as quiet as I could be, and still the beetle remained unmoving. One foot in front of the other, I crept closer to the shining blue creature, my breath slow and ragged, my heart beating fast and seeming too loud against the pure sounds of nature as for no logical reason, I reached out and touched the beetle. It shuddered a little as my hand came into contact with its cool, smooth shell, and turned its black head towards me, still chewing a mouthful of grass. I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding as it made a small keening sound before turning back to the forest floor, an ironic sort of laugh escaping my lips. So much tension over something so gentle.

It was then I realised what I had come here to do, and a wave of pity washed over me. A poor harmless creature, sacrificed to the noble cause of a pretty frock. But if I came back with nothing, I was surely out of the job, and that meant no food and no bod. So, it was a case of him or me and I'm afraid I was the higher species in that situation. The pity was replaced by a numb emptiness, a sort of unfeeling cool that came from my core, spreading with a sense of strength into my limbs.

"I'm sorry, little one." I whispered over the beetle's head, then thrust the blade of my rusty sword into the soft part between its head and shell, right to the hilt. The creature let out a terrible, piercing screech that scattered the rest of the wildlife as I tried to pull my sword back out of the beetle. My hand was slippery with its thick, blue blood and I hung on for my dear life as it bucked and swung its huge horns from left to right, scoring a long gash into my left side before I could get a foothold on the soft moss and drag the sword sideways, tearing through the poor creature's flesh with a sickening, wet sound before it gave a strangled gurgle and finally came to rest, dead on the floor if the now silent forest.

I lay there too, motionless except for the heaving of my chest, the air burning my tired lungs. My eyes closed, I could feel the sticky beetle blood cooling and congealing on my hands and arms, the slow throb of the gash in my side, the needless calm that somehow felt offensive after the death of the poor beetle. As the feeling came back into my heart, I began at first to feel tired, then sick, then both, and finally a small sob escaped with a harsh breath. My head was left spinning as I lay there, staring at the sun and thinking how everything should be that little bit more dark now.

Such is the feeling after you first kill a sentient creature.


	2. Chapter 2

I must have collected the blood for Fang in a daze, because the next thing that I remember is standing with three heavy bottles full of the still warm, blue blood in my arms and the sound of a woman's voice.

"You there, what's your name?" it was a harsh sound against the heavy stillness of the trees. "You killed that beetle with skill, who taught you that?"

I stood, blinking before I could focus on the woman in pale grey who stood in front of me.

"I – um – nobody taught me," I started to walk back towards the road. What right had she to be questioning me like she was my mother? "I'm just a tailor's assistant, I run errands, pick cotton."

"But that was skill. That sort of thing doesn't happen by accident, I should know."

"Look lady, I'm just here to get the beetle blood, not to be accosted by random strangers. Now if I can just be on my way." My feet had reached the stone of the road by now, my eyes had never left the harsh woman in grey.

"Hmm, very well. But you're wasting your potential being a tailor. You are destined for greater things. I think you should go and speak to your Elder tomorrow, he may have something to say that you might like."

I laughed to myself then. "What makes you think the Elder will want to speak to me?" I turned to walk back up the path that would take me into Etherblade. "Lowly tailor's assistant, remember."

"You are far more than you believe, young one."

I turned back then, and found myself blinking a few times in rapid succession. The strange woman had gone, disappeared into the sparse trees within the space of the few heartbeats it took me to turn around. That was one crazy lady, I thought to myself as I walked, frowning, back up the hill and into town.

I dismissed the woman as crazy as I walked back into my mistress' shop that afternoon. It was beyond stupid that the Elder would think anything more of me than a poor orphan he had felt pity upon.

"Ah you have the blood!" My mistress sounded more happy and relived than I had ever seen her as she rushed to greet me and take the bottles from me with the care of a new mother. "Oh thank you, thank you. You're a life saver." she bustled off into the back of the shop, still speaking with such a high voice I struggled to hear her even as I followed her.

"What about this afternoon, you said I could take the time off?" I kept my question light and hoped she was too happy to go back on her word, not that my mistress was that sort of boss.

"Oh yes, yes, of course you can have the rest of the afternoon off. Just make sure you're back in time to help with dinner, I don't want to have to do it all myself."

I supposed that was only fair, after all, she would have to work hard by herself this afternoon if she wanted to prepare for the weekend.

"I'll be back in plenty of time." I said as I went up the stairs to change out of the bloody clothes Fang had completely failed to notice when I'd come in.

So, I was free for the rest of the afternoon, and truth be told, I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. The streets were bustling with people and I'd never been a fan of crowds. I looked up at the huge stone blade that had always fascinated me, and wondered how peaceful it would be, all the way up above the heat and smell of the city. Then I looked closer. There were pterosaurs that circled the thermals up there by day, waiting for anything that looked like easy prey. OK, so not the best idea.

My eyes wondered then, over the upper parts of the city, the spires and high roofs that most people simply ignored. Surely I could find some sort of peace and quiet on one of them without the risk of being eaten by something. There was the top of the Elder's building, but surely I'd be punished if I was found scaling such a holy place. That was out too. There was a large bridge type construction that I regularly sat upon in the evenings, to look out over Etherblade, but it was so close to Fang's shop that it always stank of chemicals. No, today I wanted somewhere special, somewhere I'd never had the chance to go to. The North Gate caught my eye then, with it's majestic slanting roofs and high cliffs to one side, it looked so brilliant in the afternoon sun that I was almost pulled towards it by its beauty.

The Gate loomed above me as I walked towards it, that same strange feeling creeping over me again, like a prickling blanket of heat and cold at the same time, it covered me, flowing down from the back of my head to the tips of my toes. I felt invigorated, energised from just the thought of reaching the top of the high gate. Before I even realised that I had moved, my hand was upon the dark rock of the cliff, curiously warm from the strong sun that day. It felt so right to let myself go, to trust my instincts in that moment, so much so that I only stopped for a moment before my feet were finding their way into small nooks and my hands were finding protrusions to hold onto. It was such a rush to be climbing, to feel the rough rock beneath my fingers, to find places to push myself up, my feet feeling everything through the flexible soles of my cheap shoes. I passed over rock and roof alike, my mind barely registering the difference as all I could do was climb, to push myself up to the highest point, to be the best I could be.

Then it was over. I had reached the top of the cliff and all about me there was the vast empty blue of sky, only punctuated by the tops of trees that now seemed so small from my new viewpoint. The tingling feeling surged through me again, this time turning to a sheer exaltation at my achievement. I had done it, with no more effort than walking down the street, I had climbed the tallest point in the city.

But no, hold it. There was more. I turned around to see the roof behind me had more to it than I thought. A chest was on the walkway between the two towers of the gate, the dark wood standing out against the pale stone and patterns of gold shining in the afternoon sun. What would someone be doing hiding a chest all the way up here? My curiosity overwhelmed me and I just had to get to that chest. After all, it's not like there was anyone up here that would see me, nobody would find out and I'd get to know what was in there. Not that I'd steal what was in there, I just wanted to know. My hands itched to run over the wood, knowing it would be warm from the sun like the cliff, and the gold that decorated it cool in contrast.

The feeling washed over me again, and before I could take a deep breath, I was at one side of the cliff top, all of my muscles tensed to propel myself as quickly as I could towards the edge. A release of tension and I hurtled in three steps to the edge of the cliff, then off, into the vast nothingness of air for what seemed like forever, my arms stretching forward, then back to push my legs forward. My body knew I was going to make it, to reach the red tile of the roof, but then I started to fall and my mind wasn't so sure. Panicking, my arms started to flail against the air, pointlessly grasping at nothing as I fell. Time seemed to slow as I saw the roof come towards me, my hands now reaching for the tiles, just out of reach, if only I could reach a few more inches forwards, I could grab the roof.


	3. Chapter 3

One hand clutching the stone corner of the roof, my other scrabbled for purchase on the slippery red tiles to either side of it. I realised the futility of it when a tile came loose and tipped over the edge. It seemed to take more than the few seconds in reality to to fall, turning over and over before it smashed itself to dust on the stone far below me. No, I couldn't let myself follow it, even though I hated most of my life, I did not want to die, and least of all like this. Like a fool who took on too much. They'd tut and shake their heads at my story for years and I didn't want that. I wanted to be a name people would recognise for the goo I did, for the heroism and daring deeds against the Wraith. I wanted to be a hero, and for that I would have to live through this.

The word 'Hero' echoed through my mind, the sound of the strange woman telling me I was destined for more adding to it to form an unreal chorus in my mind. My whole being seemed to resonate, to hum in harmony with the voices in my mind and I felt, once again, that new feeling of electricity flowing over my skin, outwards from my heart to fill me with an unreal power. As it reached my fingertips, I could feel my grip become stronger, my arms seemed to forget the pain of holding me there and only feel strong. My muscles bunched again, tensing my body like a spring before the inevitable release, throwing my weight upwards in a rush of air against my ears.

My feet hit the stone of the roof with more force than I thought possible from my lean frame and I felt no jolt through me when I landed. It was like I had simply materialised on top of the roof. I blinked rapidly, things were really getting strange this past week. Could that weird woman actually be right? It couldn't be, it was just the adrenaline, it did that sort of thing to people. Made them seem superhuman, yeah, that was it. Nothing more than adrenaline.

The chest was over the other side of the roof to me now, down on a bridge that spanned between the tower I was standing upon, and its twin. I took the two paces to the other side of the roof, and sat down on its edge and looked at the chest, the gold decoration still shining in the bright sun. With a thought to how I had landed on the roof, I took a deep breath and let myself slip off the roof and down the short drop to the bridge. Again, I felt nothing as I landed, my feet making barely a whisper in my soft soled shoes, my muscles still burning with a fire that wasn't entirely unpleasant as I moved to the chest and lay a hand upon the sun-warmed wood.

The pleasant warmth of the chest seemed to run up my arm, merging with the electricity that still coursed through me to make me feel more alive than I ever had. I found my fingers working towards the lock, a simple pin between me and knowing what this mysterious chest contained. The metal was cold against my skin, so charged with this new power and the heat from the chest that it was almost painful. I slipped the pin out with my fingertips and it tinkled as it fell from the lock to dangle from it's gold chain, the sound seeming loud against the rush of my blood in my ears.

Finally, here I was with my fingers worming under the lid of the chest, this was it, I thought to myself, savouring the final feeling of suspense, before I closed my eyes and inhaled sharply, the scent of rosewood filling my lungs as I flipped the chest open. A bright light hit my eyelids, turning my world red before I slowly opened them, blinking rapidly before my eyes adjusted to the sun shining off the contents of the chest. It was filled almost to the brim with small gold coins that reflected the bright sun, casting a bright yellow gold over my face.

I slid a hand into the chest, taking one of the coins and bringing it up to look at it more closely. It was inscribed with an intricate design of an orchid in full bloom, surrounded by what looked like a border of vines with tiny leaves all pointing into the centre of the coin. Yet it was no money that I'd ever seen, turning it over, the design was copied on the other side, no mark of currency or value on it, just the orchid and twisted vines.

Puzzled, I stared at the coin in my hand while I used my other to close the chest, some part of me not wanting anyone to know about it, the golden glow fading and bringing me back to reality with the click of the lid closing. I was intrigued as to where the coin had been made, as there were no identifying marks from a maker, as I knew most smiths and craftsmen used and feeling the weight of it, resting in the palm of my hand I knew that it had to be mostly gold. Who in these times could even afford to make coins like this, let alone leave them in a chest for anyone to find? Maybe there was a rich merchant behind this, maybe he'd give me something for finding one of his coins. Unlikely, but what else could explain a chest of unusual coins in the middle of a city?

Standing smoothly, I tucked the coin carefully into a pocket and looked out over Etherblade. I would contemplate where the coin had come from later, right now I had a more pressing problem. The sun was creeping steadily towards the horizon, and I was still all the way on top of the city. Fang would be disappointed if I was late for dinner, not to mention that she'd keep me up all night cleaning the shop and doing all of the dishes to make sure I was sorry. But how was I supposed to get down from here? I decided there wasn't going to be an easy way down, seeing as how I probably wasn't supposed to be up here in the first place. How in the good name of Pan Gu did someone get this chest up here was anybody's guess.

It had to be a wizard, or a great hero that the merchant had hired. No average man could haul that up on his chest and make the jumps that I did. Hell I was a thin girl for my age, underdeveloped and overworked, and I barely made it. Now I had to get down, before the sun set, and before anybody saw me up here. So, I sat myself on the edge of the wooden bridge and looked downwards, seeing a large platform below me and the only way down that I could see.

Steeling myself, I turned and began to slide myself downwards and towards the platform below me, slowly letting my weight begin to rest onto my arms, until I was hanging still around ten feet above the cold stone. Swallowing my heartbeats back down from my throat, I thought of the jump that I had made earlier. Surely I could do it again now, just drop and let my body absorb the shock with this new power. Well, it was worth a try, there didn't look like there was any easier way down. So, taking a deep breath, I let my fingers slip from the bridge, and felt myself falling. Not daring to look down, I braced myself for the impact, bending my knees and clenching my jaw, I held my breath as my feet impacted with the pale stonework.

A jolt shook my eyes open, knocking the breath from me as my legs were forced from under me and I landed on my hands and knees. I stayed there, panting, for what seemed like an hour, the new power that I had used to get up onto the tower had gone, now replaced with an empty, weary feeling. I was drained, but I was still only halfway down. I picked myself up then, or crawled to the edge, I don't quite remember. That fall took the last of my strength and the last thing I remember is sliding down the rock wall that I had first climbed.


	4. Chapter 4

I awoke in my room above Tailor Fang's shop, to the sound of a deep masculine voice, but the words were muffled by the closed door. My eyes fluttered as I tried to fight off the immense weight of exhaustion that seemed to be pinning my entire body into my bedroll. Holding my breath, I was able to move my right hand by a few inches before the effort became too much, and the exhaustion once again made me slip into the darkness.

When I awoke on my low bed once more, the morning light was filtering through the thin curtains to bathe the room in a pale blue light. My eyes stung as they adjusted to the new light, taking in a vague human shape in front of the window as I blinked hard against the sun.

"Uh, wha-" my voice choked off with the dryness in my throat. I swallowed what felt like a spiked burr down my throat and I found my voice again, "What happened?"

"You've been out all night," Fang's voice was soft as she turned from the window to face me. "Whatever happened to you that left you so exhausted?"

"I... I'm not too sure," I mumbled as I tried to sit up, making a pathetic attempt to fight the sheets that had seemed to come alive some time during the night to set upon me. Finally out of the sheets, I sat, sweating and breathless but at least my eyes were focusing better now. I could see Fang, her face had an eerie blue tint from the curtains and she looked worried. "I'm OK now, though. I think," I had to admit, I wasn't convinced myself.

"Well, you should rest. I spoke to the Elder I was so worried, and he said you're not to leave the house for another day." She came over to me, kneeling beside me and putting her hand on my shoulder. "You stay here, young lady, I want you back on your feet and back to work as soon as we can. I have that huge order to fill and there'll be more next week I know it." Fang began to fuss over me, pushing my shoulders back down and tucking me back beneath the sheets. "I'll bring you something to eat later, just you rest now."

I tried to wriggle out of the sheets again, they were too hot and I felt the need for air, for the forest again, but I'd used what little strength that I'd recovered in sitting up. With a sigh I relaxed. What had really happened yesterday? My mind wanted to remember but there was something that wouldn't quite fit. I saw myself on the gate of Etherblade, the sun high behind me and there was this strange feeling. Some sort of power flowing through me like nothing I'd felt before, and a golden light shining below me.

It was no use. I turned over to lie on my right side, meaning to sleep and hoping that I'd remember something more when something dug into my thigh. I reached into the pocket of my trousers and my fingers found something smooth and metallic, warm from my body heat. I pulled it out, wrestling my arm from beneath the sheets one last time. It was the coin, golden light reflected from the window shone on my face and I could almost feel the warmth of it. So I hadn't been dreaming, I had made it to the top of the gate. That feeling, it was like something from another world, yet it was so much a part of me. Thinking about it made my head spin and I let my arm drop, the light reflected from the coin dimming with it. I was so tired, heavy with exertion and my head throbbed with pain now. Closing my eyes, I tried to clear my mind, but the darkness swallowed me and I was asleep.

The next morning I woke up with something like my old energy back and made my way stiffly down the narrow stars to the room we used as both a kitchen and a sewing room at the back of our shop. Fang was busying herself at the small stove and flashed me a concerned smile as I eased myself on to one of the high stools at the breakfast bar come cutting table.

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked, setting a bowl of rice congee in front of me and putting a hand to my forehead.

"I'm fine." I assured her, though I wasn't one hundred percent sure myself as I stretched, the muscles in my shoulders protesting. "If it makes you feel better, just let me do something easy today."

"We've got a lot of new fabric needs cutting, you can sit in here and do that, but it will have to be later." Fang sat with her bowl next to me. "The Elder said you were to go and speak with him when you could get up again. So finish your breakfast and tidy yourself up a little, we don't want you going out looking like you've been asleep in your clothes for days, do we?"

"No, Fang." I said with my usual lack of enthusiasm, my mentor worried too much about appearances for my tastes, but I would hate to ever see her upset so I finished my congee and headed back up the narrow stairs. My knees were stiff and ached as I reached the top step and ducked through the curtain covering the small door or my room.

I changed quickly into my smartest trousers and tunic, usually reserved for celebrations, I knew Fang would send me back if I wore anything else, and this was the Elder of my city I was going to see. Maybe he could give me some answers, everyone said he was the most intelligent man in the city and he had seen so much. As I made my way back through the shop, I could only think of the past few days, even as Fang fussed and straightened my hair I was thinking of that strange feeling. I stepped into the sun with one thought on my mind, I had to ask the Elder what he thought had happened.

* * *

I was shaded from the ever present sun as I waited under the stone roof of the Elder's conclave, staring up at the huge stone dragon and waiting on the return of the clerk I had spoken to. People milled about me as I sat on a long stone bench outside one of the smaller office doors. I doubted that the Elder would grant me audience in his grand chambers, not even the local businessmen had that privilege these days. A lot had changed even since I had made my home in Etherblade, there seemed to be a shadow hanging over the city now with Wraith attacks feared at any time, food being short and trade routes dangerous. People were spending less time in the open, going out only when they had to and businesses were suffering. Fang was lucky in a way, people would always need clothes and warriors would always need armours, so we were staying afloat now by taking in more orders for battle wear than her famous embroidered tunics.

"Miss Nanashi?" The clerk stirred me from my melancholy, bowing to her, she nodded her head, clutching her clipboard closely, "The Elder will see you now, if you'd follow me into the office?"

I rose and followed the petite clerk into the relative darkness of the offices, the quiet sounds of outdoors fading and being replaced by the bustle of many secretaries sorting a million things at once. The clerk led me past many tables filled with ledgers and papers to the back of the offices where it was darker and she knocked on a wooden door, a rare thing in our city, then we both waited for what seemed like an hour until a deep male voice replied.

"Enter."


End file.
